In response to the United States government’s August 4 (US EST) announcement of the sale of 40 M109A6 Paladin Medium Self-Propelled Howitzer Systems and related equipment to Taiwan, Presidential Office Spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) today (August 5) thanked the US on behalf of the government of Taiwan for fulfilling its commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances.

On the morning of August 3, President Tsai Ing-wen met with leaders of the Reform for Resilience Commission’s (R4R) Asia-Pacific Hub. In her remarks at the meeting, President Tsai highlighted the importance of promoting sustainable, balanced development and building a more robust social safety net as countries around the world continue to concurrently fight the pandemic and pursue economic recovery.

On the morning of August 1, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, President Tsai Ing-wen delivered recorded remarks at an event marking the 27th anniversary of the government’s rectification of the legal term used to refer to Taiwan’s indigenous peoples.

Vice President Lai Ching-te said July 21 that Taiwan is committed to promoting the development of biomedical industries across Asia and playing a pivotal role in international health cooperation.

On the evening of July 16, the Presidential Office held a press conference following the APEC Informal Leaders’ Retreat.

Leader’s Representative Dr. Morris Chang (張忠謀) successfully attended the entirety of the closed-door 2021 APEC Informal Leaders’ Retreat, which was held by videoconference from 7:00 pm to 9:40 pm on July 16 (Taipei time). This marked the first time since APEC’s founding in 1989 that the host has convened an additional mid-year leaders’ meeting.

In response to the arrival of a third shipment of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines donated by Japan, Presidential Office Spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) said the Presidential Office is again sincerely grateful to the Japanese government for its timely assistance, and noted that this shipment of approximately 1 million doses, which arrived in Taiwan on the afternoon of July 15, has brought the total number of doses donated to Taiwan by the Japanese government to over 3.3 million.

On the afternoon of July 13, President Tsai Ing-wen announced that Dr. Morris Chang (張忠謀), founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), will once again serve as her representative to APEC in 2021, and met with Dr. Chang to discuss his role.

President Tsai Ing-wen presented the Olympics flag to Taiwan’s team for the Summer Games in Tokyo July 12 in the southern city of Kaohsiung, urging athletes to go for gold and represent the country with courage and honor.

On behalf of the Office of the President, Spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) thanked Japan for donating a further 1.13 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses, which arrived in Taiwan on the afternoon of July 8. Expressing our sincere gratitude to the government of Japan for its continued assistance, Spokesperson Chang said that Japan’s donations of “friendship vaccines” have demonstrated our countries’ close ties and touched the hearts of the Taiwanese people.